Spain
Part 4Just Getting Comfortable

FYI:

Because of a VERY, VERY slow connection, pictures will be forwarded at a later time.

Buenos dias mi amigos y amigas. Yes, it's 12:50 AM on Friday morning and I'm awake. Damn. Fortunately, Jack is knocked out. But he did wake up at 8 AM this morning with only 7 hours sleep under his belt. And me and Terry? Only 5 hours sleep. Why did we get to sleep so late? Well, heck, when you can't sleep at night, what do you do? You shave your husbands head!! That's right boys and girls, after a few shots o' Jack Daniels, we decided that 1:30 AM on a Wendesday night that it was the PERFECT time to take a razor to Terry's noggin. What else were we gonna do? Shave the maids head? She ran away too fast.

So now Terry has a shiny new dome (no cuts!) and couldn't be happier. Anyway, it helps him get his "angy face" on when we're on the metro. And speaking of metro, just as we've gotten accustomed to the railway system and the ways of Madrid, it's time to move. But a little more about our day's adventures...and the adventures were abundant...

After the early morning wake up (I was having a dream, yelled out about a fire and getting the people out thus waking up Jack - nice one), we showered, got frustrated over finding a hotel in Barcelona, FINALLY made reservations along La Rambla and headed out to the Museo del Prado. This museum is the one to visit when in Madrid. Why? Because it really is awesome. We took the metro (which Jack LOVES!), successly switched trains, and actually ended up in the proper locale. As we headed toward the entrance, we spotted the VERY LONG LINE of French teenagers. We were used to cackling teens and found our place in line behind them. Mr. Jack was getting very sleepy - it was already 1PM and he was in need of a nap. He had been such a trooper, the boy's allowed a fit here and there and a nap on daddy's shoulder. He insisted on bringing his drumsticks (which we had to check at the entrance) and proceeded to unload 6 fistfuls of change from his pockets before he went through the museum's metal detector. The female guard was more than accommodating, making Jack laugh as he unloaded his treasure. He somehow managed to scoop up fistfuls of euro off the desk in our room - guess he's lookin' to feel more like daddy with the jingling pockets. Finally, we were through. But wait! A trip to the banos was first. Sigh. Patience is a virtue and the one thing that is necessary when traveling with kids. Que pasa nada. Okay. Done guys? Off we go...

Saw some BEAUTIFUL sculptures done in marble dating back to the 1500-1600's. Unbelievable. The rubenesque (sp) women were very reassuring for those of us sportin' a ghetto booty. Sorry, Jen, but I forgot to bring the name of the painter and painting you longed to see. Maybe I got it by chance in my cache of photos?!? Guess you and I will have to travel here together some day (wink, wink). Jack proceeded to fall asleep on Terry's shoulder halfway through the tour. Poor kid! So exhausted. After viewing the second floor, it was time for sustinence and a jolt of caffeine. Downstairs we went to the cafeteria. Sidebar: 98% of the people in Madrid are thin, maybe not in shape, but thin. The only "large and in chargers" turned out to be Americans. No joke. You can spot the Americans from afar and there were several in the cafeteria. Very sad to know that the stats are true. (Sad heavy sigh). Anywho, after a recharge, we headed out of the museum and back onto the metro. We had to start making our plans for Barcelona. Keep in mind, we're totally on the fly after Madrid. Need to start making some plans for the next couple o' days.

Talked to Jen yesterday and we are DEFINITELY going to meet up somewhere in France. Thanks to Lew for the Barcelona info from her HP bud. Our email is down right now (FUCK!), but we hope to regain power soon. Hmph. Still haven't heard from Kate. Damn. Gotta press on...

Back to Barcelona plans...after pulling out many hairs before our trip to Museo del Prado (my hairs as Terry's were now outta sight), we made reservations at Hotel Oriente on La Rambla in Barcelona. That only took 2 hours to do! Sometimes things get lost in translation and/or you lose your info somewhere in the land of the internet. Damn. Now we have to make those bullet train reservations. Damn. Shit (a dedication to Lew's fav word - Carin, yours?!?) After the Prado, we tried making the reservations online. No dice. Fine. Picked up the phone (costing a fortune) and did the 'se hable englais' to the dude on the other end. Waited a few seconds then got a barely English speaking chick. Fine. Whatever. Turns out we CAN'T do it over the phone as it's less than 24 hours from the time of departure. Fine. Damn. Shit. What do we have to do? GO TO THE TRAIN STATION WHICH IS LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE MUSEUM WE WERE AT 2 HOURS AGO! Wow. Packed it up and headed out once again. Jack was very excited to ride the train again. Mama just wanted to relax for a while.

Found the train station (Huge!) and got our number for the next available teller. One hour later, our number was called. Our guy spoke very little English, but we muddled through. We now have 3 preferred seats to Barcelona leaving at 1:30 PM on Friday. Perfecto! Time for grub. Fortunately, we had spotted several cafeterias from our earlier visit and sat outside for our meal. We hung back and watched Madrid roll on by. Nice change of pace.

Now, can I give props to myself? Managed to order dinner for all of us, ask about the restrooms, and survive conversing with our waiter all en espanol. Dude!!!! Need a brownie badge for that one! Rebecca, Jen, you would've been VERY proud!

After dinner, we got a little too comfortable with our knowledge of the metro and ended up going the wrong way after switching trains. Fortunately, we caught our mistake early and were able to get on the right train. Whew. Another bullet dodged. Time to get back to the room before we lose our confidence or our sanity.

For all you Nugget lovin' folds in Davis, I found Madrid's answer to the Nugget right below our hotel! Thank god!!!! And it didn't smell!! Had to grab some more fruit and water, so I decided to venture to the gourmet market. Dude, it rocked! I couldn't even touch the fruit! The dude behind the fruit stand grabbed and weighed the fruit for me, then bagged and labeled each one. Nice. And is the cured meat fresh, you may ask? Hell ya! Why, the various animals legs are HANGING (hooves still attached) for the meat guy to slice per your order. Check out the pics - no joke. Golden. Carin, you may want to turn away for the next story. In the front deli case, spotted a baby pigs head, sliced in half and BBQ'd to a golden brown for your dining pleasure. I stood there a good while as I was trying to make sure I was seeing what I thought I saw. Still need to get a pic of that. This grocery experience was priceless.

Our thoughts on Madrid - Would we come back? Don't know. We'll have to see how Barcelona feels. We definitely can make our way around Madrid which a blessing. Day one, we were shell-shocked. Nice to come out with a good feeling. Do we feel totally comfortable? Hell no! But we're more willing to try the unknown. Madrid has forced us to grow.

Tomorrow we are off to a new city and a new dialect - Spanish with a twist. Outta be interesting. Another notch on the adventure belt. Are we scared? Yes, but we're a little more confident that we can come out shining, but maybe a little battered, on the other end. Hoping to make it to the south of France after that. It all hinges on Jen and her plans with her traveling companions. Gotta meet up with someone we know as the experience is priceless.

Our we learning as we go? Yes. Tolerance, patience, and the desire to live without a bunch of "stuff". Stuff doesn't matter, your family and friends do. "Do what you love, love what you do." Anyone recognize the quote?

I wish all my family and friends a wonderful weekend and encourage all to tap into your adventurous spirit. It's frightening and full of unknowns, but it's worth it. The memories are worth their weight in euros.

Till tomorrow...

Sidebar to Sjarina: DO NOT take John to Spain for a vacation. It's all fish, all day, all night. The poor boy would have his head in a bucket all day, all night.